WHEN HARD WORK PAYS OFF | FT. HENRY
My Solo Road S2 Ep2 | When Hard Work Pays Off | ft. Henry
Henry is back on the podcast for a life update, a relationship update, and a family update! We get into where we’ve been for the last year, our goals for the future, and some of the questions we’ve received from you guys!
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
INTRODUCTION
Henry is back for the life/relationship update you’ve all been asking about! We have been doing a lot of rescue missions with Team Finn and have grown a lot as a couple and individuals. We’re answering some of your questions like did we buy land and a house? How has being friends first impacted our relationship? What have we learned about each other since the last episode together? All of this is answered plus Henry’s life update + our goals for the future!
OUR NEW FOSTER DOG ABIGAIL + THE MOST RECENT DOG RESCUE MISSION IN MEXICO
- Abigail is our new 3 pound foster dog that I rescued from a taco stand in Mexico.
- It’s very common that rescue dogs don’t like men. The stray dogs on the street will avoid men at all costs. That’s something that Henry experienced and he had to accept the fact that he was there to take videos.
- We chose to foster Abigail to see if Pearl could handle a friend and Henry wanted to see what it was like to have a small dog around. And it’s interesting to see the differences between her and Pearl.
- There were over 20 dogs rescued on the recent trip including Morgan, a dog who was abandoned for 6 years. He was living by himself in a neighborhood where the neighbors fed him and posted about him on Facebook trying to get someone to help. He was saved in 10 minutes and is still very friendly.
- Animal cruelty laws just came out in Mexico and people in America value dogs more in America. All of the animal welfare money in Mexico comes from America.
- The places we do the rescues in are very poor and they are worried about their survival + have to take care of themselves first.
HENRY’S NEW VAN + HIS FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT IT
- It’s a Mercedes Sprinter ambassador van that he was gifted in a partnership. Mercedes really appreciates animal rescue and they loved team finn.
- He lived in a 2011 144” sprinter for 4 years and now he’s in the newest sprinter which has all the bells and whistles like a heater, water tank, an AC unit, and 4 wheel drive.
- The top thing that he recommends you have in your van is a heater. His sprinter has the Webasto diesel heater but you can get knockoffs too. It’s hard to be productive when you’re cold.
- Windows are great to have and if you are thinking of not getting windows because you want to be stealth, get the windows. Because unless you are in a commercial van with a ladder on top, you aren’t going to be stealthy. Don’t make stealthiness that much of a priority.
- There’s a lot less anxiety driving a new vehicle. When you take an old vehicle to Mexico you have to hope and pray nothing happens. So taking a brand new van with a 100,000 mile warranty feels a lot better.
AN UPDATE ON ELLA, PEARL, AND FINN.
- They all love the new van. Each of them have their favorite spots.
- Finn has been thriving since having a family. His life has evolved just like Henrys.
- Ella and Finn sprint through whatever landscape they are in and love playing together, which is something neither of us could give to them on our own.
- Pearl is also thriving and in love with Finn.
OUR EXPERIENCE DATING SOMEONE YOU HAVE A FRIENDSHIP WITH
- In the beginning of our relationship the emotions were very high. People were rooting us on and now we have settled into it getting to know each other in different ways.
- Dating a friend is great and I heard so many of your beautiful stories about it but the problem in dating a friend is you don’t want to hurt their feelings. You don’t speak up for yourself + you have random pent up things that build up.
- We weren’t communicating about awkward or hard things. This was damaging to the relationship for a while.
- Open communication has been a huge part. When you are in a van by yourself you don’t have to worry about communication as much.
- It’s important to learn how to speak up for yourself because it makes the relationship better.
- Therapy helped us with being a third party and you can practice saying something there before you talk about it with each other.
- Our relationship has deepened and it was because of a difficult hurdle we went through for 2 weeks. We couldn’t be happier!
THE TEA ON OUR RELATIONSHIP + A Q/A WITH YOUR QUESTIONS
- Vanlife makes things more complicated. You are always in motion, you’re together 24 hours a day, and then being a content creator & having to show up can be difficult.
- Being in a relationship has drastically changed Henry’s idea of vanlife and taking time to relive van life as single people is important to us. You don’t have to get rid of that feeling!
- Henry liked that it started as a friendship but he could have admitted his feelings sooner. We both agree that if we hooked up in the beginning we probably wouldn’t have dated afterwards.
- Building a friendship first made me feel so safe + comfortable with him and I didn’t know I needed that.
- Building trust in the relationship helps with jealousy. Henry doesn’t get jealous but I have a history of getting cheated on and it does cause jealousy even though I trust him.
- Again, being open and communicating helps work through that jealousy
- Being Henry’s friend I didn’t realize just how layered he was. That was something that surprised me about him.
GOALS FOR THE FUTURE
- Buying a house, starting a family, building a life, and more international travel is on both of our goal lists. We didn’t buy a house or land, we wouldn’t be able to keep that secret! Henry will also be coming with me on the Thailand TrovaTrip! (it’s booked but it’s free to join the waitlist if you’re interested!)
- Henry wants to build more friendships, start a bigger rescue, diversify his income, and start more hobbies while being creative.
- I want to start diversifying my income streams so I don’t have to do so many ads since it doesn’t feel as natural to me. I still want to show up and overshare on social media but start saying no to certain sponsorships because it hinders my creativity.
SUMMARY
There’s so much more that we could get into, but we will save that for another episode! Overall, things are really good in our lives and relationship. We’ve grown together in our communication & intimacy which has made the biggest impact. We are thankful for the hard few week’s that we had because it only made our relationship stronger. The dogs are thriving, we’re thriving, and we’re both excited for what’s to come!
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
